By Erin Free
In this regular column, we drag forgotten made-for-TV movies out of the vault and into the light. This week: the 1991 drama Wild Texas Wind, starring the late, great Dolly Parton, along with Gary Busey, Ray Benson, Don Letts and Willie Nelson.
With the sad, sad, sad passing of the great Dolly Parton at the too-young age of eighty, the world has indeed gotten a little darker. A singer of scorching power and character, a songwriter of one-of-a-kind, genuine skill, and an underrated actress with high-wattage screen presence, Dolly Parton was, however, first and foremost a pop cultural icon. She was also a constant, down-home beacon of light in an increasingly dark world, doing charity work, providing hope, and always riding in on a rolling wave of warmth and positivity. Everyone seemed to love Dolly: she was funny, honest, and no-nonsense, and never made the mistake of getting political and dividing her audience. There are some truly special people in the world, and the late Dolly Parton was one of them.
In terms of her sideline career in acting, Parton is best known for the feature films 9 To 5 (1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (1982), but she also dabbled consistently with small screen projects, producing, co-writing and headlining telemovies like Blue Valley Songbird (1999) and the festive faves A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986) and Unlikely Angel (1996). One of Parton’s most daring ambitious small screen movies, however, is unquestionably 1991’s Wild Texas Wind, which boasts the singer/actress’s most dramatic performance, and tackles the difficult, now even more topical subject of domestic violence.
Like much of Parton’s small screen work, Wild Texas Wind was very much the country music icon’s show: it’s produced by Parton’s Sandollar Productions, while the singer co-wrote most of the songs featured, and co-penned the story with Mark Kiracofe. Sensitively directed by Unsung Auteur Joan Tewkesbury (Old Boyfriends) from a punchy screenplay by TV writer John Carlen, Wild Texas Wind (the title comes from a 1992 Carl Perkins song) stars Dolly Parton as Thiola “Big T” Rayfield, a seasoned country swing singer who has enjoyed a long life on the road, backed by best friend and singer/guitarist Ben Rayson (effectively essayed by imposing Asleep At The Wheel frontman Ray Benson) and their band Big T And The Texas Wheel.
The band’s tour bus grind comes to a halt, however, when they play a show in a new bar opened by the brash, cocky, politically connected Justice Parker (Gary Busey). Unsurprisingly, Parker takes an immediate interest in the beautiful Thiola, and soon starts romancing her, and then managing her career…and her life. A charming but bullying creep, Parker isolates Thiola from her band and friends, and soon plays out a relationship built on coercive control that eventually spirals into physical violence too. Thiola is tough and sassy, but she’s also enamoured of Justice Parker, who gets his claws in deep.
First broadcast on major US network NBC on September 23, 1991, the powerful Wild Texas Wind is a pretty tough watch. Seeing a bruised and battered Dolly Parton getting knocked around by a raging Gary Busey is not easy, but her involvement in the telemovie is highly admirable, bringing an ugly subject into the light, and handling it with great care, even within the confines of what remains a true star vehicle. Dolly Parton gives a strong, brave performance, showing that a strong, self-possessed woman can indeed still be the victim of abuse.
But despite its star vehicle status, Wild Texas Wind is surprisingly nuanced and expansive, not presenting the brutal Justice Parker as a mere monster. Way before he became a tabloid and reality TV nightmare, Gary Busey was a great actor (Big Wednesday, The Buddy Holly Story), and he’s excellent as the steamrolling Justice Parker, whose bruising childhood and horrific relationship with his hideous, drunken, bigshot father (played with grim authority by Dennis Letts) provide ample explanation for his own alcoholism and inexcusable violence.
Beyond its tough story and difficult subject matter, there’s plenty of good-time stuff in Wild Texas Wind too. There are plenty of musical performances by Big T And The Texas Wheel, with Parton and Benson making for a wondrous musical duo on belters like “Big T”, “Swingin’ Like Tarzan & Jane” and “Leave That Cowboy Alone.” There’s also a memorably rollicking, foot-stomping, in-studio fiddle duet by Asleep At The Wheel’s Larry Franklin and his father, Louis Franklin, both true legends in the western swing field.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s even an extended cameo appearance by the great Willie Nelson, who appears with the fictional Big T And The Texas Wheel at the legendary Grand Ole Opry for a rousing take on his signature hit “On The Road Again.” Always a wry, engaging screen talent (1980’s Honeysuckle Rose, 1981’s Thief, 1984’s Songwriter, 1982’s Barbarosa), Willie excels in a memorable backstage scene where he quietly warns the cagy and deeply concerned Ben about the endlessly negative possibilities that Justice Parker promises.
It’s hard to believe that a life force like Dolly Parton is gone, but this incredible multi-hyphenate has left behind an absolute treasure trove of fascinating, soul-enriching music, film and television artefacts, and the tough little telemovie Wild Texas Wind is one of the most impressive and unusual.
Availability: Wild Texas Wind is pretty easy to find online, but it’s cut from an old TV VHS recording. Thusly, it’s far from sharp, but it’s certainly watchable, and on top of that, one certain online presentation is from NBC’s Sunday Night At The Movies, and comes complete with ads, including stormers for Red Lobster ($9.99 for a massive plate of prawns? Yes, please!) and Subway (they ran a tie-in with the film Coneheads??!!)
